Hello there!
I'm a midlaner on EUNE that peaked Challenger this season abusing Malzahar.

I wanted to make this guide since there are so much misleading information about Malzahar and writers aren't ranked very high. I don't mean to offend them, especially since they have put much effort into their work. I write this to bring justice to you, the reader. Check out my account here.

Pros

Cons

possible to OTP great scaling strong teamfights relaxing to play floats

immobile weak early levels item reliant spreader of virus sucker

Summon Aery is reliant damage while is a skillshot. Arcane Comet might be more effective if the enemy team is rather immobile or your build contains high amounts of ability haste since the cooldown of it will be lowered a lot. By the way, if you move to it, it is possible to pick up Aery.

Manaflow band is just the best option. can work against AP assassins.

Transcendence feels best to play. can work if you play Malzahar as a roamer.

Waterwalking has become my new favorite rune of the three. I think that it negates a lot of Malzahar's weaknesses regarding his roaming. It is also efficient around drake fights which happens pretty often.

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Magical Footwear is the best option as it's super beneficial. Malzahar wants to rush Liandry's Torment and is therefore forced to delay the purchase of Boots til around 10-15 minutes into the game. Cosmic Insight is a great option aswell, however you will barely use the increased item haste.

Future's Market is the standard rune as it helps Malzahar reach his item powerspike faster, for example Lost Chapter and Liandry's Torment. Biscuit Delievery, on the other hand, feels good to have during Malzahar's weak early levels. Stack them up and suprise your enemy when your going from 0% mana to 25% mana. .

SUMMONER SPELLS - FLASH: Flash is a must for all immobile champions. TELEPORT: Teleport is very effictve during all parts of the game. GHOST: Ghost was played on mages back in 2017, still viable so try it out! IGNITE: Ignite enables more duels and suprising burst.

All the best Malzahar players build the same, with small variations depending on circumstances. , and are a must while the rest can be switched around.

is important mainly because of it's damage per second and which is a component . makes things much easier, both when escaping and chasing. enables more fluidity in the game, not having to wait all game for summoner spells is always appreciated.

and are good items depending on the enemy team. High burst is countered by Stopwatch while immense healing demands Oblivion Orb.

- Malzahar's main safety. With it he has 0.25 seconds of invincibility where Malzahar can tank any abilities or damage source. Be aware though, as damage from monsters procs the shield and damage over time spells pretty much ignores it.

- Your only skillshot. This ability seperates good Malzahar players and great Malzahar players. It has a large amount of uses, for example poking and interrupting enemies. Players seem to underestimate the length of the portal while they are aware of the width.

- Your loyal servants. Can be used in a lot of ways, for example blocking abilities and farming. The thing to remember, stack the ability before you use it.

- Your main damage source. Learning how it bounces leads to improved gameplay. A tip is to shorten the minion wave by dragging it so that you guarantee the bounce. Don't forget to reset it with your silence and suppression.

- The hardest but most impactful abiltity. Many ways to use it, both defensively and offensively. To remember is that you are suppressed aswell as the opponent during the channeling.

The ability you start with
Start with for better poke and push. In some matchups you don't want to push and therefore you can start . With this Malzahar can kill all three melee minions on the first wave and the let the wave push towards him, if done correctly.

In the threat-department I have only discussed a few champions and this is to simplify things. Similarities between champions are often clear and therefore you can do the math yourselves, but only if you know the principles.

• Long range midlaners are scary for Malzahar as he cant reach them.
• Midlaners with great wave clear destroys Malzahar's pushing ability.
• Midlaners with strong roaming can also be a threat if Malzahar doesn't have teleport.
• Midlaners which naturally builds Qss or Rocketbelt is bad, for example Yone and Fizz.

During the first 5 minutes of the game Malzahar wants to gain gold and experience.The problem is the eventual fight that will break out. Since Malzahar can't outdamage the enemy midlaner but has better wave clear, he can push the wave. If the enemy midlaner joins the fight he will atleast lose the wave.

Once you got your and you should be able to take over the map. Constantly push the wave and roam with your jungler. Teleporting bot is recommended if you can secure at least one kill.

Midlaners usually switches lane with the botlane and this is possible for Malzahar too. The thing to remember is to not overextended and leave your team alone when you don't have .

In teamfights it is important to recognize what your job is. It could be to zone the enemy team or shutdown a carry. Every situation is different so it is hard to give some guidelines.

Here is a general idea of what your position in teamfights should be:

Focus even more on your team and what task you have. Playing it safe is recommended yet you can still find a pick. Supports can be an easy target since they are often warding without protection.

Malzahar is primarly a midlaner and a mage.

His starting ability is either or , depending on what your objective in lane is. He then max followed by .

His best runes are and . Arcane Comet being better against immobile champions.

The best items are and with .

His best summoner spells are and .